Meant For Each Other
by Rosepixie
Summary: Scully runs the risk of losing Mulder again to a woman she has been competing with for a long time. Does he love her enough to break the cycle?
1. Meant For Each Other (1)

Meant for Each Other  
  
The three women sat giggling as they sewed. The queen was telling them about her love affair, which was the juiciest bit of gossip since she had come to the castle as a bride. The whole court was buzzing with it, except for the king, who refused to hear it. Of course, he was desperately in love with her, so he didn't hear much about it in the first place. Guinevere believed that he had no idea it was going on, but most of the women thought that he knew, but loved her too much to do anything about it. The king was such a quiet man, who knew what he actually thought? Today the queen was showing her ladies Lancelot's latest gift. It was a ring of beaten silver with a pattern etched all around it with no beginning and no end.  
"He called it a love knot," she was telling them, "and says that it will never be broken because we are meant for each other."  
"What if you aren't meant for each other?" asked one of her ladies. "After all, you are married to Arthur."  
"But Arthur isn't as special as Lancelot," Guinevere replied. "I love Arthur, but I am in love with Lancelot. You know when you are supposed to be with someone, and I know it now with all my heart." They started giggling again.  
"Tell us about the first time you realized that you were in love with him!" urged the lady to her right. The queen launched into her story for the third time as the young woman to her left stared at the fire flickering in the fireplace. She found these stories so boring after the first telling. She also hated the thought of Guinevere with Lancelot. The idea of the romance was interesting, but she wished it were any other two people. She respected Arthur greatly and hated to see this happening to him. He loved Guinevere very deeply and would fall apart when he found out. She knew that he was too good a king not to address the situation once he could ignore it no longer, but the potential consequences were too horrible to imagine. She also wished that if Guinevere had to have an affair, she had picked someone else to have it with. She didn't know why exactly, but she was somehow drawn to Lancelot. He probably didn't even know that she existed, but she was fully aware of his existence! She sighed. It was obviously not meant to be. He was meant to be with Guinevere, not her.  
The next day, the lady was walking along one of the corridors of the castle when she ran into Lancelot. He smiled at her and she felt herself glow.  
"Hello," he said calmly. "You are one of the ladies-in-waiting, aren't you?"  
"Yes, sir," she murmured with a curtsey.  
"I've noticed you with the queen before." He reached out to touch her long, red hair and she was glad that she had only recently freshly plaited it. "Your hair is beautiful. Such an unusual colour."  
"Thank you," she said humbly, but inside she was singing for joy.  
"It was a pleasure running into you," he said with a bow. "I look forward to seeing you again." He walked on and she looked after him. He was so handsome. He was distinguished, and yet somehow playfully boyish at the same time. He was quite tall, with soft, brown hair that fell to his shoulders in curls. He always seemed as though he knew something that no one else did. When he had turned a corner out of sight, she realized that she no longer remembered where she had been going.  
For two weeks she hardly saw him at all, and when she did it was always either from a distance or when he was engrossed in something, so he didn't seem to notice her at all.  
Arthur threw a tournament for the Knights of the Round Table and then a banquet. Everyone watched the events with great interest. She thrilled inside each time he defeated an opponent. It was plain to see that he was the best knight out there! That night the banquet hall was crowded with people talking and laughing, dogs running around underfoot, and dishes clattering. She looked around at the organized chaos, but she couldn't find him anywhere. He finally arrived, one of the last revellers to show up, and strode proudly to the royal table at the far side of the large hall. He bowed low to the king and queen and handed the queen the favour of hers that he had carried throughout the tournament. She gracefully accepted it with a nod. He bowed again and turned to look at the ladies in waiting sitting off to the side. He walked over to them with a smile on his face.  
"Good evening, ladies," he said with a nod. They giggled.  
"Good evening, Sir Lancelot," a flirtatious brunette replied. "And may I congratulate you on your stunning display of prowess today."  
"Thank you," he said, colouring a little. He looked at the ladies until his eyes fell on her and he paused. "I've run into you before, haven't I?"  
"Yes, sir," she said with a nod.  
"Did you ever tell me your name?"  
"No, sir."  
"Would you be so kind as to tell me now?"  
"Yes, sir. My name is Leanna."  
"What a beautiful name. I'm pleased to meet you." He nodded to the group of women again and walked away. A few moments later, she reminded herself to breathe again. She was in a daze for the rest of the evening.  
Several days later, the queen decided to go riding. She elected to take Leanna and one of her other ladies with her and two knights for protection. She of course chose Lancelot as one of the knights. A page came along with a basket of food and wine as well. It was a beautiful day with no fog at all, which was somewhat unusual, but extraordinarily pleasant. They rode out away from the castle and by midday they had reached the edge of the forest. The nights helped the ladies down off their horses, the horses were tied up, and they sat down to eat. Lancelot reclined on his side next to Guinevere and she fed him berries. Leanna sat nearby watching as he licked the juice from the queen's fingers, making her giggle. The queen got up after a while and linked her arm with that of one of the ladies and they walked away a little bit giggling. Lancelot sat up a little and looked over at Leanna. He smiled at her.  
"You've barely eaten a thing, Leanna," he said teasingly.  
"I haven't much of an appetite," she replied curtly. He laughed and reached for some berries. He sat up and held one out to her.  
"Here, try them," he urged. "They are quite excellent, and so juicy." She cautiously took the proffered berry and popped it into her mouth, sucking the juice from her fingers.  
"What do you think?" he asked when she had swallowed.  
"It's very good." He leaned towards her with another one, holding it before her mouth. She looked at him for a moment, but his eyes urged her to eat the fruit. Hesitantly she opened her lips and took the fruit from his fingers, licking some of the juice away as well. A smile played about his lips. Somehow the fruit tasted better from his fingers than from her own. She smiled. She practically glowed the rest of the day.  
Leanna ran into him several times over the next few days. It was almost like he was seeking her out, since they rarely ran into one another before. She certainly wasn't going to complain, though! If his affair with Guinevere weren't stronger than ever, she would have almost thought he was interested in her. Things were tense around the castle. She didn't know what to do. She wanted the affair to end, but not in such a way as to get him in trouble, and it was looking like if something didn't happen soon, Arthur would be unable to ignore things much longer! She just hoped that somehow Guinevere and Lancelot would figure out to quit soon, before the decision was made for them.  
A week after the day he had fed her berries, however, she was walking down the corridor when the door to the royal bedchamber burst open and a knight flew out of it to land in a heap on the other side of the corridor. She stopped, only a foot from where the knight had fallen, and looked cautiously into the room. A fight was going on, and the odds were very unfair. Three knight, besides the one laying at her feet, and the king against Lancelot alone. He was faring well considering the odds, but there was still a lot of blood falling from him, and very little falling from the others. The queen sat on the edge of the bed frozen in horror. Lancelot went running from the room and almost ran into Leanna. She watched him run down the hallway and out of her life. She went past the room in a daze.  
The queen was tied amidst the fire a week later when he rescued her in the early morning light. Leanna watched as the man she loved carried another woman into the sunrise. She knew that she would die without seeing him again. He was gone.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Scully shined her flashlight ahead of her as she made her way through the hallway. He was hiding somewhere, she just didn't know where. She wanted to scream in frustration, but it would make too much noise. She turned into a dark room and saw the old man standing by the open window. Immediately warning bells went off in her head. Why would he be standing by the window, outlined by the glow from the streetlights if he didn't want to be found? Then she heard him muttering. What was he saying? It was too quiet for her to make out any words, but somehow it sounded odd. She gripped her gun a little tighter and stepped into the room, shining her flashlight at him. As soon as she did, he clapped his hands together. She jumped at the sound and raised her gun.  
"Federal agent, I'm armed!" she exclaimed. He laughed.  
She looked at the man at the end of the flashlight's beam cautiously. He was old with a white beard and wise eyes. He was dressed simply in black pants and a button-down shirt with a bizarre pattern. Somehow he looked vaguely familiar, although he hadn't seemed so in the pictures and she was fairly sure that she had never seen him before. He stood calmly, as if waiting for her to finish her perusal of his features. She found it odd that this man had so easily evaded three FBI agents for the past two days! Now she had him though. Suddenly he smiled at her.  
"How are you doing?" he asked calmly. Now she was confused. Why was he asking her how she was? What did that have to do with anything? And more importantly, why did he care?  
"You'll have to come with me," she said in her most business-like voice. "We have some questions to ask you."  
"I'm sure you do, my dear." He snapped his fingers and a strange light appeared in the room. It filled the room and didn't appear to come from any particular source. None of the several lamps in the room were lit. He indicated the two chairs by the brick fireplace. "Please, sit down."  
Scully eyed him warily as he made his way to one of the chairs and sat down.  
"Sir, please don't make this any harder than it already is!"  
"I won't," he said calmly. "As soon as you come and talk with me for a few minutes I will go wherever you want me to and answer all of your questions."  
"My partner or Agent Rayes will be here any minute, I don't have time to sit and talk to you without them showing up!"  
The man laughed merrily.  
"You have as much time as we need, my dear, for time has stopped."  
"What?"  
"Cut yourself and see if you bleed."  
"What?"  
"There is a letter sharpener on the table or some paper, whatever you like."  
"You want me to cut myself? Whatever for?"  
"If you bleed than you have no reason to believe me, but if time has indeed stopped, then you will not bleed."  
"I'm not going to just cut myself!"  
"Then shoot your gun."  
"No!"  
"Have you turned off your flashlight yet?" She was surprised by the question, but realized that she had not turned it off. She tried to press the button, but nothing happened. It wouldn't depress and the beam wouldn't go off.  
"It won't turn off!" she exclaimed.  
"Of course not," he replied calmly. "It takes time for that to happen, and time has stopped."  
"Time can't stop! It's not possible!"  
"How long have you been working on the x-files?"  
"Over eight years, why?"  
"Eight years. You can't tell me that in all that time you have never encountered anything that shouldn't be possible but is. What about Leonard Betts?"  
"That was different! He was a medical oddity! There are medical oddities all the time, he was just an extremely unique case."  
"Alright. How do you explain Alfred Fellig?"  
She stared at him.  
"How do you know all these things? Specific cases? Personal cases?"  
"I pay close attention to you."  
"Why?"  
"You need to go to him. If you don't, you stand the risk of losing him again."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"You are closer than you have ever been, but he has met her again. If you don't go to him, you may lose him again."  
"Lose who again?"  
"Close your eyes," the man commanded.  
"Why?" she asked suspiciously. He stood up and faced her, but didn't move towards her in any way.  
"He explained it once. Maybe if you hear his words again it will be easier for you to understand. Close your eyes."  
"She was still suspicious, but something told her that she could trust him. She closed her eyes.  
"Now open them," he commanded.  
Scully opened her eyes. Instead of the strangely lit room and the even stranger man, she saw another room before her. There was a sofa in front of her and seated on it was her former partner, Fox Mulder. Another person was in the room as well, but nothing besides Mulder really seemed there. He was speaking, but she couldn't make out his words. His eyes were closed. Suddenly she could hear him, as though the volume had been turned up.  
"The souls come back together... different... but always together... again and again... to learn," he was saying. The she couldn't hear him again for a minute before the sound returned.  
"But love, love... souls mate eternal." The sound faded out again and then the picture faded back into the room with the strange man.  
"Do you remember that?" the man asked her.  
"Yes," she answered, hoping that the sadness she felt wasn't creeping into her voice. "He was hypnotized, regressing. It was during a case concerning a woman named Melissa Riedal in Tennessee several years ago. Why did you show me that?" Scully decided to skip the question of how he had showed it to her for the moment.  
"Because it sets up a reference point for you. It helps me explain things to you."  
"Explain what to me? What are you talking about? Who are you anyway? You're not making any sense!"  
"Please sit down."  
Scully rolled her eyes, but she obliged him and sat down as he returned to his seat.  
"Now, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Scully asked irritably. She didn't like having oblique bits of information dangled in front of her. It reminded her of Mulder's slide shows.  
"You know me."  
"I do?"  
"Yes. Look at me. What do you see?"  
Scully looked at him. So far she was unimpressed by his explanation. He looked vaguely familiar, but she didn't know who he was. All of a sudden he changed before her eyes, progressing through a series of permutations. First his hair was shorter and his clothing changed. It reminded her of the clothing worn by her grandparents in old pictures of them. His hairstyle and clothing changed rapidly, seeming to pass backwards through time. Finally, his white beard became longer and he wore a long, green robe. A long staff was in his hand. Her eyes widened. He looked so familiar this way. How could she know this man? She knew that she had never met him, so how did she know him?  
"Look at me. Remember me."  
"I don't know you. You look very familiar, but I don't know you!"  
"Yes, you do. You have known me for almost a millennium and a half."  
"How could that be?"  
"Past lives."  
"Past lives? I'm not even sure they are real! Why should I believe you? What do you want?"  
"You should believe me because it is the truth and what I want is for you to go to him and never lose him again."  
"Mulder? How would I lose him?"  
"The same way that you always lose him, to her."  
"To whom?"  
"The two of you were meant for each other, but something happened and he fell in love with her instead. The three of you have been living over and over since then, but you never get it right. Go to him now, before it happens again."  
"Who are you?"  
"A friend. Now go to him!"  
"We have to finish this x-file first."  
"Fine. Once that is done, will you go?"  
"Will you answer our questions?"  
"Yes."  
"Then I'll go as soon as possible. If you come with me to Doggett and Rayes, I will leave the questions to them. Something tells me that I should get to him as soon as possible. I believe you."  
"Good." He clapped his hands and the light in the room winked out, leaving only her flashlight. She turned it off and then back on to see if it worked again. Satisfied that things were back to normal, she called to her partners, bringing them running. Once everything was straightened out and the strange man was down in their office with them, Scully announced that she was leaving for a while. Doggett and Rayes protested, but soon saw the steel in her eyes and let her go with no more questions. She stopped upstairs to let Skinner know that she was using some of her vacation time, and then she went home. After making an explanation to her mother about finding Mulder and leaving the baby with her, Scully got on a plane and began to think about all the strange, yet familiar old man had told her. Something told her that everything he had said was true. She hoped that she was wrong. She hadn't found him and brought him back from the dead just to lose him again.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * 


	2. Meant For Each Other (2)

Meant for Each Other (2)  
The hot summer weather was making beads of sweat form on Christine's face as she ran through the streets. She rushed into one of the buildings panting. The older woman inside looked up sharply.  
"Madam! Please come! It's time!" panted the young woman.  
"Already?" asked the woman, mildly surprised. "Alright. I'm coming." She began bustling around the room gathering things. "Be a love and go and tell my daughter I'm leaving. She's in the back room." Christine scowled, but complied. She was not overly fond of Anna. She made her way to the back room. Sure enough, there was Anna, listlessly cutting up herbs.  
"Anna," Christine said, "your mother is coming with me. It's Eleanor's time."  
"Alright," replied the girl, suddenly smiling wryly. Christine knew that she didn't like that smile, but she just returned to the front room and the waiting midwife.Christine and the midwife hurried through the streets. There were people everywhere and dogs, cats and rats were always scurrying around underfoot. Christine dodged around people and animals as she tried to keep up with the older woman. Finally they came out of the crowd and were able to walk side by side.  
"How long has she been having pains?" asked the midwife.  
"Not too long," Christine replied confidently. "They started during the noon meal." The woman nodded.  
They turned a corner and Christine ran right into someone. She found herself staring into someone's chest. He had wrapped one arm around her back when she bumped into him. She looked up into his face. He was tall and handsome. A mop of brown hair sat above deep hazel eyes and a sparkling smile. She smiled back at him.  
"You should pay more attention to where you are going, Christine," he said laughingly.  
"I'm sorry Phillip," she apologized. "Eleanor is having her baby, so I didn't really have my mind on where I was going."  
"I see," he said, his eyes sparkling. "Could I see you tonight?"  
"What?" Christine was a little surprised. She had fallen in love with Phillip shortly after meeting him, but she had thought he didn't know about that! Perhaps she was wrong. She relished the idea of spending time with him, but she couldn't do anything that could be construed by her protective older sister as improper.  
"I'd love to see the baby after it's been born," he explained, "and I would really like to talk to you."  
Christine's heart started to beat a little faster. What did he want to talk to her about?  
"Of course!"  
"Good!" he said with a smile. "Then I'll see you this evening!"  
That night Christine carried the tiny baby to its cradle and gently laid it among the soft rags. It felt like every muscle in her body ached. Delivering babies was hard work! She went over to the hearth and sat down on the ground to rest a bit, but as soon as she sat down there was a quiet knock on the door. She sighed and got up to answer it. Christine opened the door and found Phillip standing on the other side of it. She smiled when she saw him and he smiled in return.  
"Hello," he said softly. "How is the baby?"  
"She's just fine," Christine answered. "Would you like to come in and see her?"  
"Sure." He followed her inside Andover to the cradle. Phillip peered inside and seemed to be thinking.  
"She has red hair," he stated, "just like you!" Christine laughed.  
"Of course! Eleanor is my sister, after all! It would make sense for her child to have red hair, just like that two of us!"  
"I suppose so. I like it. She's cute."  
"Yes, she is." Phillip looked at Christine.  
"I want to talk to you."  
"Alright. What do you want to talk about?"  
"I'm joining the Crusade."  
"What?" Christine asked incredulously. "Phillip, why? Are you crazy?"  
He smiled wryly.  
"Some people think so."  
"Phillip, you know what I mean! Why are you doing it?"  
"If I come back, I will have enough money to buy a house like this and be a merchant like your father and brother and brother-in-law!"  
"What if you don't come back?"  
"I will. Love will triumph over war."  
"What does love have to do with it?"  
"Christine, you are my best friend, so I'm going to tell you a secret. Promise me that you won't tell anyone."  
Christine suddenly had a horrible sinking feeling, but she nodded. A bright smile spread across Phillip's face.  
"I'm going to marry Anna, the midwife's daughter!"  
"What?" Christine asked quietly.  
"I've fallen in love with her. I had originally thought that I was in love with you, but then I met Anna. We will get married when I come back with a fortune. Her father won't allow the match if I don't have a fortune."  
Christine was stunned. She felt like someone had thrown ice chips and her heart and taken the floor from beneath her feet. She stared at him, unable to speak. She realized that he had no idea how in love with him she was. She felt like the world had stopped spinning underneath her and her body hadn't yet caught up. How could he no know how she felt? And how could he think that he was in love with Anna? She wouldn't let herself cry in front of him, so she willed the tears to leave her eyes. He didn't seem to notice.  
"When are you going?" she asked quietly.  
"The day after tomorrow. That's why I came to see you. To say goodbye. And to ask a favour. Will you take care of Anna for me? Make sure nothing happens to her?"  
Christine nodded. She looked up and into his face. Suddenly she was hit with a revelation. She knew somehow that he wasn't going to come back. He would never return. Again she willed the tears back. There would be time for tears later.  
"I will miss you, Christine," he said softly as he took her hand.  
"I will miss you too, Phillip. Please be careful!" He smiled and wrapped her in a warm hug. He rested his chin on her red hair.  
"I will. I will be careful."  
Two tears fell from her eyes to flow down her cheeks as he held her close.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Scully sat on the plane staring out the tiny window at clouds as they passed by. A voice in her head asked why she was flying across the country just because a strange old man told her an incredibly far-fetched story. It was so unlike her to believe stories like that, and even more unlike her to buy a ticket and sit on an uncomfortable airplane because of it. She knew that he loved her. They had been silently in love with each other for eight years. So why was she so worried? He wasn't the type of man to forget the woman he loved and run off with a stranger. Scully sighed. She didn't know why she was doing this, but a very insistent and worried voice in her head said that it was the only way to be sure that he wouldn't leave her.  
A young stewardess pulled a cart up to her aisle and asked Scully and the man sitting next to her what they would like to drink. Scully thought for a moment and asked for a glass of red wine. She sipped her wine and stared out the window again. What if she couldn't hold onto him? What if he fell in love with this other woman? Her heart fluttered in her chest nervously.  
Scully woke up when the captain announced that they would begin landing in just a moment. She looked out her window again. It was foggy. The plane landed and Scully filed out of the plane, carrying her little overnight bag and her briefcase. The terminal was not busy at all. They weren't allowing people without tickets onto the concourse, so there was not the usual bustle of families and businessmen meeting friends and colleges to fight her way through. She made her way down to the baggage claim and waited with a crowd of other people to pick up her bag. Finally she spotted it among the suitcases and boxes that were being carried around and around. She tried to push her way to the front to collect it, but no one seemed to notice her. Scully grew annoyed. She wished that Mulder were there to push through and grab the bag like he used to do. Somehow he was more imposing than she was and people moved for her. Frustrated, she turned around to find a different part of the crowd where maybe she could get to her bag. Suddenly she heard someone calling to her.  
"Scully, I got your bag for you."  
She whirled around, only to find herself face to face with the strange old man, who was holding her suitcase out to her. Scully was astonished. How did he get here so fast?  
"Thanks," she said as she reached to take the suitcase from him.  
"I've got it," he answered calmly. "Come on, I'll get you a taxi and take you to your hotel."  
"Alright," she said hesitantly. He led her out of the SFO baggage claim area and onto the sidewalk where cabs sat lined up. He opened up the back door of a cab for her, put her suitcase in the trunk and slid into the back seat with her. He directed the cab to the Hilton by Fisherman's Warf.  
"I was going to wait until you had seen him to meet up with you, but I had to warn you. Don't give up. Don't let him go, no matter what! He loves you, no matter what he says. He will tell you that he wants to go, that he wants to be with her."  
"He will remind me that he's endangering William and me," Scully interrupted.  
"Yes, he probably will. But don't listen to him. You have to hold onto him."  
"So who is this other woman anyway? I'm not entirely sure that I believe you about that."  
"Then why did you get on the first plane to San Francisco?"  
"I don't know. Something just told that I should."  
"It's because you've been through this before."  
"So you keep saying. Even if I did see any credibility in your story, why should I believe you? If one really does have all these past lives, then why should I believe your story and not the things that Mulder remembered in Tennessee? You claim that the things that he remembered were not really his memories, so why should I believe that you are right when he was not?"  
"Why do you always have to ask that? What is so hard about just believing?"  
Scully laughed.  
"Mulder would tell you that I don't want to believe."  
"But you do. It just scares you. Think about how far you have come in the past year and a half. You are not afraid to propose extreme possibilities when you are out studying x-files anymore. You want to believe more than you know."  
The cab pulled up in front of the hotel. He stepped out of the cab, paid the driver and got her suitcase out of the trunk as Scully climbed out of the car onto the curb. She looked around. There were hundreds of people around since they were so close to Fisherman's Warf, but it didn't make any difference to her. She loved being near the ocean. Scully liked Washington D. C., but she really missed the smell of ocean air. They had moved around when she was a kid, but they were always near the ocean (Naval bases tended to be, after all). She smiled as she breathed in the cool salty ocean air. Of all the places for Mulder to come to, this was a great choice. She had never lived in San Francisco, but it had always been one of her favourite cities. It was a big, busy city, but it didn't feel that way. It made her feel at home. Scully smiled as she followed the old man into the lobby.  
"Here's your bag. I'm going to go. I'm sure that I will come and see you again before you leave San Francisco. Don't let him go without one hell of a fight, you hear me?"  
"I'm not about to give him up. I don't think he's going to leave me any time soon. I'll call him when I get up to my room."  
He smiled a sad sort of smile. He handed her suitcase to her, nodded his head and turned away. Scully watched him step out of the hotel lobby onto the sidewalk outside. She wondered where he was going. Scully snapped herself out of her blank stare and wandering thought and went to check in.  
Once up in her room, Scully took a deep breath and picked up the phone next to her bed and began dialling a number from memory that she had only dialled twice before, but remembered like she had dialled it a thousand times. She held her breath as she listened to it ring. After three rings that seemed to last forever, she heard a click.  
"Mulder." A smile spread across her face and she relaxed a little more into the pillows of her bed.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * 


	3. Meant For Each Other (3)

Meant for Each Other (3)  
  
Joan lifted the heavy bucket of water from the well and carried it back towards the house. She tried to push her thoughts away with work. Everything hurt so badly, though, that it was hard to push away. The men had not come back yet and she was worried. Finally she reached the house and began to prepare the meal. Marie came into the house with some vegetables and began to cut them up for stew. Joan looked over at her. She envied her sister. Marie had long golden hair and a graceful figure. She really was beautiful. She looked almost like nobility with her delicate hands and feet. For all her beauty, however, she still looked tired and worried.  
"When do you think that they will come back?" Marie asked.  
"I really don't know."  
"I'm worried about them! What if someone gets killed?"  
"Marie, some of them will get killed. It's a battle, a war, and that's what happens. People get killed."  
"What if they lose? Will the English kill us?"  
"How should I know?"  
"I'm so afraid that Ferdinand will be killed." Joan stiffened.  
"Why are you worried about him specifically?"  
"Because I love him!" Joan felt like crying. This was her worst fear, to lose the man that she loved to her sister. She didn't know why, but she had known it would happen for a long time.  
"Does he love you back?" she asked quietly.  
"Of course! He wants to marry me!" Joan nearly dropped her spoon into the stew. She fought hard to keep from crying. The thought of him coming back and marrying Marie was more painful than the thought of him dying on the battlefield. Tears began to run down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry in front of Marie. Joan made an excuse and went out to the vegetable patch. She sat down among the plants and cried harder than she ever had before. For as long as she could remember she had been in love with Ferdinand. The thought of losing him to anyone hurt, but losing him to Marie was like having hot oil dropped on her head. As she cried, watering the soil with her tears, Joan thought back on moments she had shared with Ferdinand. She had carried meals out to the men in the fields and would sit talking to him as he ate. When the latch on their gate had broken and her father was away tending the animals, Ferdinand had helped her fix it. She used to meet him behind the barn in the evenings and he would smile as she walked up. He would brush his had across her cheek and kiss her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her. They would stand like that for a few moments, and maybe whisper things to each other before returning to their houses. He had told her that he loved her. What had happened? When had she lost him? Had she done something wrong? Maybe it was just that Marie was prettier than she was. She would be pretty enough if only her hair were a different colour! She had flame red hair that stuck out everywhere. People whispered about her because of that hair. Could he have turned away from her because of that? It didn't seem likely, but Joan couldn't think of any other reason.  
She dried her eyes and wiped her face with her apron (which was non too clean already) and stood up. She grabbed a few vegetables and carried them into the house to add to her stew.  
They began to receive news from the battlefield the next day. Reports ran around the village like wildfire. Most of the reports claimed that they had lost and that Henry and his English army were marching their way. There was little in the way of reports about who had died and who would return to them. The women waited anxiously for their lovers and husbands and fathers and sons to come home to them. Joan and Marie waited too. Joan couldn't decide if she wanted him to come home or not. Maybe Marie was wrong and he still loved her? Somehow she knew that Marie was not mistaken. None of the men who had returned seemed to know what had happened to him, though.  
A week passed and the last of the living finally came back. Ferdinand was not among them. Joan asked the young men for news, but most of them had no idea where he was.  
The last man to come hobbling back to the village was an old man. Joan saw him limping along and invited him to come inside to rest out of the sunlight for a few minutes. He gratefully followed her inside. He sat on a stool and she brought him a cup to drink. After he had sat for a minutes and caught his breath he looked up at Joan.  
"I am looking for a girl in this village," he began slowly. "I was wondering if you would help me find her."  
"Of course," Joan answered. She was curious about who he could be looking for.  
"I need to find a girl named Marie. I have a message for her."  
"A message? From whom?"  
"A message from one of the boys who died."  
"Do you know what his name was?"  
"I don't remember exactly. He had brown hair and was quite tall." Joan became very pale.  
"Ferdinand," she breathed.  
"Yes," he said with a sad, almost knowing look. "Do you know where I might find her?"  
"She is my sister. She's outside working now."  
"Thank you," he said standing up. "I'm sorry, Joan. It will happen someday." He nodded to her and left. Joan felt like someone had pushed the air out of her lungs and wouldn't let more in. Ferdinand was dead, and he had taken all of her dreams with him. She would never see him again, never feel his hand on her cheek, and never feel his arms around her again. And yet his final message was to Marie, not her. It had been Marie's face he had seen as he died, not hers. She could feel her heart breaking as quiet tears began to run down her cheeks. Then the strangeness of the old man's words began to sink in. What had he meant, 'it will happen?' What would happen? Who was this strange old man? Would she ever understand his words? She looked out the window at the bright morning. It was one of the most beautiful days she had ever seen, but she couldn't enjoy it as she thought about her lost love.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Scully! It's so good to hear your voice! But isn't it dangerous for you to contact me? Where are you?"  
Scully laughed happily. He was happy to hear from her. He still loved her. The old man must have been lying.  
"I'm in San Francisco. No one knows I'm here. Oh, I miss you, Mulder."  
"I miss you too. Why are you here? Are you on a case? I thought you were officially back at Quantico."  
"I'm not exactly on a case. I am back at Quantico. It's been a while since I've taught. I had forgotten what it was like. And now I have this reputation from working on the x-files for so long, so my class is popular, but only because they want to hear about wrestling vampires, not forensic pathology!"  
"Well, what did you tell them? I was drugged, remember."  
Scully laughed again.  
"Mulder, I am not going to tell them about that case!"  
"Why not? It would satisfy their curiosity, wouldn't it? Tell them about the pizza boy who can jump like a flying squirrel and the sheriff with the buck teeth! It might make them stop asking.  
"Either that or they will ask even more! They will want to know about aliens and werewolves and mermaids!"  
"Well, aliens and mermaids you can talk about. We don't have any stories about werewolves. Unless you ran into some while I was gone?"  
"No, Mulder. No werewolves. Just giant bat people and super humans!"  
Now it was Mulder's turn to laugh.  
"Where are you? Let me take you to dinner."  
"Of course! I'm at the Hilton on the Warf."  
"Great! I'll be there in a few minutes. What room are you in?"  
"742. I'll see you soon?"  
"Yes. I love you, Scully."  
"I love you too!"  
She hung up the phone and got up to change. She opened her suitcase to see what she had brought. She didn't want to wear her standard suit; it was too business-like and formal. She found a pair of black jeans and a green sweater. She slipped out of her suit and into the comfortable clothing. Scully looked at herself in the full-length mirror and smiled. She had pretty much gotten her figure back since having William and looked good. The jeans were fitted, almost tight, but still comfortable and a button down cardigan looked perfect with it. She washed her face and brushed out her hair. She had just slipped into her high-heeled boots when there was a knock on the door. Scully ran to the door and flung it open with a big smile across her face. He stood there smiling in his black leather jacket, black jeans, and a white tee-shirt. They hugged and she felt perfectly happy just wrapped in his arms. He kissed the hop of her head.  
"I have missed you so much, Scully. You look great."  
"I have missed you too, Mulder. The FBI is a lonely place without you."  
"How is William?"  
"He's… I think he's fine."  
"You think?"  
"A mother worries. I doubt it's anything. I'd tell you if I knew something was wrong."  
He looked at her for a moment. He knew that she was lying, but he also knew that she was determined to not tell him about it now. So he dropped the subject with the intention of picking it back up again later. Mulder smiled. He touched her cheek lightly and lifted her face up to his. He leaned down to kiss her. Scully was happy.  
He took her to a cute little Chinese restaurant far away from the areas where the tourists ate. The food was great. You couldn't find Chinese food that good in Washington! She told him about what was going on in the x-files and in her life as they ate. He listened intently.  
"So, Mulder, what sort of trouble have you been getting into out here?" Scully asked with a smile. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I kind of miss having to make excuses and explanations for you all the time!" They both laughed.  
"I've become more interested in science since I got here." Scully raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh really?"  
"Yeah. One of the archaeologists at Stanford found out that I was here and know all about myths and legends and stuff and has been asking me a lot of questions. I've been helping her figure out what a lot of the things she's found are."  
"The legends of San Francisco?"  
"No, the artefacts are from a dig in Wales. They are kind of interesting. I'd love for you to come out and look at them."  
"Alright. What kinds of things are they?"  
"Some bones and pieces of jewellery. There are every-day kinds of things too, like pots and such, but the jewellery is what has me really interested."  
"I would have thought that you would have been listening to the pots to see if there were any ancient recorded messages!"  
"I doubt there are any!" Mulder said laughing. "We could go out there tomorrow morning if you want. Janet will be there, and she can explain a lot of the bones and things far better than I ever could."  
"Sure, I'd love to!"  
"So do you want to tell me about William yet?"  
"Mulder…"  
"Alright, I'll drop it for now."  
"Doggett has been really after me to find out where you are."  
"You can't tell him. It's too dangerous."  
"I know. I'm not going to tell him."  
"Good. Shall we go?"  
"Where? To your apartment?"  
"No, I don't have a bed yet. Let's go to your apartment. I want to see a picture of William anyway."  
"Mulder, you don't have a bed yet? I thought that you had gotten used to sleeping on one!"  
"I know, but I like my couch. I'll get around to getting one eventually."  
Scully sighed.  
The next morning Scully woke up to find him looking at her. She smiled at him and stretched. He got up and showered while she checked her voice mail messages. She then dialled in a familiar bureau number. It rang once and then a woman picked up the phone.  
"Assistant Director Skinner's office. How may I help you?"  
"Hi Kimberly. It's Scully. Is Skinner free?"  
"He should be, let me check." Scully was put on hold. A minute later Kimberly picked up again. "He's free, Scully. I'll put you through to him."  
"Thank you."  
"Skinner."  
"Hello, sir. It's Scully."  
"Hello Scully."  
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be gone for about two more days. I'll catch a plane back to Washington on Sunday night. If those plans change any, I'll let you know about it."  
"Thanks Scully. That's fine. Why don't you give me a call at home Sunday when you get back, if it's not too late."  
"Alright sir."  
"Oh, and I should tell you, the lone gunmen were looking for you this morning."  
Scully sighed.  
"Thanks. I'll give them a call. Have a good day sir!"  
"You too, Agent Scully."  
She hung up and dialled the number for the lone gunmen.  
"Lone Gunmen."  
"Hi Langly. It's Scully. Turn off the tape."  
"It's off."  
"Langly…"  
Click.  
"Thank you, Langly. Skinner told me that you were looking for me this morning."  
"Oh, yeah. Frohike finished that thing you gave him to do. With the video tape. It was defiantly looped."  
"Great. I want to you contact Agent Doggett and let him know about it."  
"Hey Scully? Who are you talking to?" Scully looked up and saw that Mulder was done with the shower and was standing there wrapped in a towel looking at her.  
"Langly."  
"Oh! Let me talk to him for a minute when you are done!"  
"Hey Langly?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Anything else?"  
"Nope. That's it."  
"Great. Thank Frohike for me, will you?"  
"Sure thing."  
"Mulder wants to talk to you. Bye!"  
"Mulder? Cool!"  
Scully handed Mulder the phone and went to take a shower. When she got out he was dressed and waiting for her. She slipped into her jeans again and pulled on a knit top.  
"So, when are we going?"  
"Whenever you're ready! I was thinking that we could stop for coffee on the way."  
"Sounds good to me! Let's go!"  
They walked the few blocks to Mulder's apartment, picked up his car and were on their way to Stanford. It was a beautiful day, she was in a beautiful city, and sitting beside her was the man she loved. Scully was as happy as she could imagine being in a long time.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * 


	4. Meant For Each Other (4)

Mulder gently led Scully through the hallways of the Stanford anthropology building with his hand resting gently on her lower back. She smiled at the feeling. It was something that she had really missed. It was a Saturday so the building was fairly empty, but a few students still hurried past them through the hallway. Mulder stopped before one of the closed doors. He opened the doorway and led Scully inside. There were easily a dozen computers on high lab tables. Strewn about the tables were bits of jewellery, stone, weapons, bits of bone and all sorts of other things that simply oozed with age. A young man, probably a student, was sitting at one of the computers typing. He looked up as they walked through the door.  
  
"Good morning, Dr. Mulder," he said respectfully.  
  
"Good morning, David," Mulder replied. "Is Dr. Kelsky here?"  
  
"Yes, she's in the storage room in the basement. She wanted to find something from a previous dig for a comparison. She should be back in a minute."  
  
"Thank you. David, this is Dr. Scully, a friend of mine."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you, Dr. Scully."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you too, David," Scully replied as she shook his hand.  
  
"While we're waiting," Mulder said, "come look at what I think is the most interesting piece." He led Scully over to a table with several weapons on it. After putting on some gloves he picked up a sheathed sword. The sheath was plain leather and rather beat up. Scully wondered how it had survived so long. Mulder carefully pulled the sword from the sheath. It was a long, very plain sword. The odd thing was that there wasn't a speck of rust anywhere on it.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" Mulder asked gleefully. He sounded like a little kid with a shinny new toy.  
  
"Mulder, I don't know much about swords. It looks like a plain old sword to me."  
  
"Scully, do you realize that this sword is over a thousand years old and doesn't have a scratch on it? It has no rust on it either!"  
  
"Maybe it's not really that old."  
  
"It is!"  
  
"Mulder, that doesn't make any sense! In that much time it would have rusted long before now!"  
  
"Not if it's the legendary Excalibur!"  
  
"That's just a legend! There never was an Excalibur, or a King Arthur. He was a legend based on many ancient kings."  
  
"Then how do you explain it?"  
  
"I don't know enough about it to make a reasonable guess, but I am sure that there is a scientific explanation for it."  
  
"Mulder!" exclaimed a woman's voice. Scully turned around to face the door. A very pretty woman had entered the room. She had light blond hair pulled back into a pony-tail and sparkling baby blue eyes. She seemed to be about Scully's age and was tall and thin. As she made her way across the room to them, Scully studied her. She wore tight black jeans that showed off her long legs and a blue sweater. She went right up to Mulder and gave him a quick hug. Scully hated her.  
  
"Mulder! I didn't expect to see you today!" She seemed to notice Scully for the first time. "Hello," she said coolly, holding out her hand. "My name is Janet Kelsky."  
  
"I'm Dr. Dana Scully. I'm pleased to meet you."  
  
"This is the woman I was telling you about, Janet," Mulder said eagerly.  
  
"How… charming," said Janet. "Oh, I was looking for a ring downstairs." She walked over to another table and picked up a silver ring. It had a pretty design running around it with no beginning and no end. She handed it to Mulder. He looked at it carefully before setting it down onto the table. "I'm sure I've seen a ring just like it. I thought we must have gotten one in the last batch of stuff from Wales, but there was nothing like it in there. I can't figure out why it seems so familiar to me."  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it's on display somewhere."  
  
"I hadn't thought of that."  
  
The door opened and a man walked in. Scully turned and was surprised to see that it was that it was the strange old man that she had met in Washington. He smiled at her.  
  
"Hello again, Dana," he said pleasantly.  
  
"Hello," she replied uneasily.  
  
"They're frozen," he informed her as she turned to introduce him to Janet and Mulder. She stared at them. Mulder was perched on a stool looking at Janet, who was leaning towards him. Each one was smiling at the other. Scully's heart sank as she realized that they were lover's smiles.  
  
"They're not, you know."  
  
Scully whirled around again, oblivious to the tears in her eyes.  
  
"Not what?" she asked with a catch in her voice.  
  
"Lovers. Not yet, anyhow."  
  
"Yet. I'm still too late."  
  
"No, you aren't. We just need to figure out how you are going to stop it."  
  
"I don't know how to stop it."  
  
"Dana Katherine Scully, you are not a quitter. You love him and he loves you. Now don't lose him now just because you won't fight for him. Don't make William lose his father because you won't fight for him!"  
  
"William's father?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yes, Dana. Fox William Mulder is your baby's father. Don't lose him!"  
  
"What do I do?"  
  
"Talk to him. Tell him you love him and can't live without him."  
  
"I can't leave my job, though, and D. C. isn't safe for him."  
  
"I know. I can make it safe for him."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Consider it done!" He snapped his fingers and disappeared.  
  
"Is there a list of display pieces somewhere?" Mulder asked suddenly. Scully turned back to find them unfrozen again. Janet walked over and sat down in front of one of the computers.  
  
"I can pull one up on here." Mulder moved over to watch over her shoulder as she worked.  
  
"Mulder," Scully said quietly, "I'm going to go make a phone call. I'll be back in a few minutes."  
  
"Sure, Scully." Mulder said turning to her. "Is anything wrong?"  
  
"No, I just have to check on some test results for a case. I'll be right back."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Scully left the room. In the hallway she leaned against the wall. She opened up her cell phone and dialled one of the pre-programmed numbers.  
  
"Lone Gunmen."  
  
"Langly, turn the tape off now."  
  
Click.  
  
"It's off. What's up?"  
  
"Can I talk to Byers?"  
  
"Sure. Hey Byers! Get on the phone!"  
  
"Who is it?" asked a voice in the background.  
  
"Scully," Langly answered.  
  
"How are you doing today?" Frohike asked as he picked up the extension.  
  
"Frohike, let me talk to Byers."  
  
"Hi Scully," said Byers as he took the extension from Frohike.  
  
"Byers, I need some advice," Scully began. "I can't believe that I'm asking you, but I don't know where else to turn and you seem like the most level headed one. Mulder is falling in love with another woman."  
  
"Scully, he's crazy about you. He has been since you were assigned as his partner. I seriously doubt that would change now."  
  
"There may be some kind of force working on him that he has no control over."  
  
"Then stop this mysterious force. I hope that you know more about it than that."  
  
"Of course I do. I'm just not sure if I believe in it."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"This strange old man, who certainly has some sort of power that I can't explain came and told me that for centuries Mulder and I have been in this cycle, living over and over because we never get it right. He always falls in love with another woman, who is also living over and over with us, but he is supposed to be mine."  
  
"Cool!" she heard Langly say.  
  
"Shut up!" exclaimed Frohike.  
  
Scully sighed. "You two may as well join the conversation. You are as likely as Byers to have an explanation, I suppose."  
  
"Did he tell you anything else? Like how to stop this cycle?"  
  
"No, he just keeps showing up and telling me not to let go of him and to fight for him and then he disappears again!"  
  
"Like poof of smoke disappears, or just leaves?" Langly asked interestedly.  
  
"Poof of smoke. I keep thinking that I must be imagining him altogether, but that doesn't make any sense either."  
  
"Cool!"  
  
"Well, guys? Any ideas?"  
  
"Have you met this other woman, or just heard about her from this man?" Byers asked calmly.  
  
"I've met her. I don't like her. And he does appear to be in love with her."  
  
"I say shoot the bitch." Frohike said enthusiastically.  
  
"Frohike, I'm not going to just shoot her! As satisfying as that would be, I don't think it would be a good idea!"  
  
"Well, you could just point the gun at her and scare her a little!"  
  
"No, I am not going to threaten her either!"  
  
"You're no fun, Scully."  
  
"Sorry. I might consider it if I didn't have William to think about."  
  
"Wow, you really don't like her!" Langly said in awe.  
  
"No, I don't like her at all. Look, if you guys think of anything, let me know. Otherwise, I think I should go. I'll try to think of something."  
  
"We'll think too," Byers assured her.  
  
"When you get back, will you tell us about this mysterious old man?" Langly asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Maybe he's a wizard or something."  
  
"Goodbye, guys."  
  
"Bye!" they all said in unison.  
  
Scully rolled her eyes as she closed her cell phone. Then she took a deep breath and composed herself. She went back to the classroom door and took another deep breath before she opened the door again. She found Janet still typing at the computer, but Mulder had moved to sit on a stool very, very close to her, looking over her shoulder at the screen. Scully wanted to cry when she noticed that his hand was resting gently on Janet's hip, so that she was almost cradled by his arm.   
Scully took a deep breath and walked up to them. She put her hand on Mulder's shoulder. He looked up at her and smiled.  
  
"Scully!" he said. "Did you make your phone call?"  
  
"Yes, Mulder," she answered with a smile. She leaned down to him and kissed him. It started out as a soft kiss, but then it deepened. When they split apart a smile played around his lips. Scully noticed that his arm hand fallen away from around Janet's back. Janet herself now wore a veiled look of anger as she glared at Scully.  
  
"What was that for?" Mulder asked.  
  
"No particular reason. I just wanted to do it because I can." Mulder smiled at her. "Janet? Would you show me some of the bones you've found?" Janet scowled.  
  
"Of course I will, as soon as Mulder and I finish looking through here. They are all over there, if you want to look at them. Just don't touch anything, we wouldn't want anything to happen to any of it."  
  
"Janet, Scully wouldn't harm any of it!" Mulder said sounding annoyed. Scully squeezed his shoulder.  
  
"It's alright, Mulder. I won't touch it until she joins me. Just try not to take too long, please."  
  
"Of course not," Janet assured her with a sticky-sweet smile.  
  
Scully gave her an equally sticky-sweet smile back. Then she turned neatly on her heel and crossed the room. She folded her hands behind her back and began to carefully look at the arrangement of bones on the farthest lab table. She didn't look up again towards the computer that Janet was working on. After a couple of minutes she looked over at David who was only a few feet away from her. He was typing, but he seemed to feel her eyes on him and looked up at her. She smiled and walked over.  
  
"Hi," she began. "What are you working on?"  
  
"Just an inventory," he said with a shrug. "They haven't gotten far enough here to let undergrads do anything else with this stuff yet. I should get to start doing more interesting things in a week or so."  
  
"I used to hate those jobs. They always made me feel like a secretary."  
  
"Are you an archaeologist?"  
  
"No, I'm a forensic pathologist. I went through all that stuff too though."  
  
"Yeah. It sucks. But at least I get to do stuff at with what doesn't go to museums and to other schools. When I'm a grad student I will get to do more. I hope."  
  
"You will. It definitely gets better."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
Scully heard Janet laugh. It was a fake, giggly laughter that was overly loud. She and Mulder were talking too quietly for Scully to hear what they were saying, but there was no question that Janet was laughing in a 'I'm going to flatter you and laugh at things I don't find funny so that you ask me to the prom' sort of way. As stupid and juvenile as that laughter was, it made Scully's teeth grate.  
  
"Hey, David," she asked, "could you tell me about Dr. Kelsky?"  
  
"Sure. What do you want to know?"  
  
"I know she's an archaeologist, but could you tell me what her specialty is?"  
  
"It's British after the Romans. She really likes Welsh and Scottish stuff, but she knows about all of it. We don't get that much from those places, so she usually deals with English and Irish stuff. She loves the stuff from digs like these. She really likes the jewellery and weapons. Bones and pottery and stuff doesn't really interest her."  
  
"How long has she been here?"  
  
"She's been at Stanford for about five years. I guess that she moves around a lot."  
  
"That's a little strange for a professor. Any idea why she does it?"  
  
"No, but I do know that only one of the other Archaeology professors here really likes her. Unfortunately, it's the head of the department."  
  
"You don't sound too thrilled about her yourself."  
  
"I'm not. She sees undergrads as nothing but glorified servants. She hates teaching, but needs to so she can get grant money and stuff. She hates having the other students and me working in the lab. It gets on all of our nerves. We are working very hard, and she doesn't seem to care."  
  
"I kind of got that impression from her, but you never know, she may have had a bad experience with undergrads at another school or something. Maybe if you show her that you can be trusted with more than fetching and carrying, she would change her mind."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"It's something to think about any way. So what is your main area of interest?"  
  
"I like Roman stuff. Art especially. I love mosaics and building design especially."  
  
"I always marvelled at Roman art. I took some art appreciation classes in college and I loved the Ancient art. I wouldn't have the patience to make pictures with tiny bits of glass and stone."  
  
"But you have the patience to dissect a human? I mean, you have to be so precise for so long! I'd go crazy if I had to do that!"  
  
Scully laughed.  
  
"I guess that it's all in the way that you think. Some people are more suited to one thing than others."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
"Scully," Mulder said as he walked up to them, "did you want to look at those bones now?"  
  
Scully smiled at him.  
  
"Sure. It was really nice to talk to you, David. Believe me, it will get better."  
  
"Thanks, Dr. Scully. It was great to talk to you too!"  
  
Scully walked with Mulder back to the lab table with the bone fragments.  
  
"What have you been talking to David about?" he asked as they walked.  
  
"Not much. College, professors, art, all kinds of things."  
  
"David's a great guy. He's very funny when he wants to be."  
  
"I kind of got that impression. He's a little frustrated doing little more than inventory at the moment though. He will be really happy to not be an undergrad anymore."  
  
"Yeah, I know. He's told me. I guess that I never went through that at Oxford."  
  
"Oh, I guess that at Oxford you wouldn't have."  
  
"It was partly due to the school and partly due to the major."  
  
"They also probably figured out that telling you to do something boring is a good way to be annoyed to death." Mulder laughed.  
  
They got to the table where Janet was waiting for them and staring daggers at Scully. She had put new gloves on and was tapping her finger on the table. Scully smiled at her. Mulder's hand had returned to its place on her lower back again somewhere along the way, and Scully knew that Janet was well aware of it.  
  
"Do you want to see this now?" Janet asked.  
  
"Yes, of course I do," Scully answered. Mulder stood beside her at the table as Janet began to point things out. Scully smiled even more as Janet started talking about a set of arm bones that had been matched together.  
  
"Excuse me," she said politely, cutting Janet off. "There are no strain marks on this arm."  
  
"Of course there are!" Janet exclaimed defensively. "They are right here and here. It's from the tendons. It shows that this person had to carry things that were far too heavy for them often."  
  
"No, may I show you?"  
  
"What? Why do you think that you would know so well? You aren't an archaeologist."  
  
"No, but I'm a forensic pathologist. Mulder, could you hand me some gloves please?" He had a wry smile on his face. It was his 'Scully is in doctor mode and she isn't lecturing me for a change' face. He handed her a pair of gloves and she slipped them on. She reached across the table and picked up another bone.  
  
"You can see some marks on this one that are not on the one you just showed me here and here." Janet nodded looking even more annoyed. "These places where the tendons would put strain on the bone and cut into it. This person had to work hard. This is also a small arm, so it might have been a child or adolescent. I don't know enough about normal sizes in the time and place to make that judgement." She set the bone down and returned to the one in question. "This one, on the other hand, it larger, probably an adult, and doesn't have those deep marks. This person didn't do a lot of heavy work." Janet looked thoroughly annoyed at this point. Mulder looked not only extremely amused, but also very proud.  
  
"How interesting," Janet said, not sounding very interested at all. Scully smiled and snapped the gloves off.  
  
"Mulder, I think that we should go off to lunch and leave Janet here so that she can get her work done."  
  
"That's not a bad idea," he agreed. I'm starved."  
  
"You're always starved!"  
  
"So? You never are. It all evens out."  
  
"I am sometimes!"  
  
"Like when?"  
  
"Do you remember the drugged pizza the flying squirrel brought us?"  
  
"Yeah. What about it? Other than that you made me pay for it."  
  
"You ate it too!"  
  
"I paid for it! Besides, you weren't there."  
  
"You sent me out again! Anyway, I ordered it because I was starved. I know that I normally order Chinese, but the autopsy patient that I had been working had pizza in his stomach and I thought that a pizza sounded good. So see, I do get starved sometimes!"  
  
"I guess so. It's a good thing you didn't eat the pizza though."  
  
"I suppose so. Although you sure were funny."  
  
"I still say that I did not sing the 'Shaft' theme song."  
  
"You did!"  
  
"Scully, how many times have we had this argument?"  
  
"More times than we've had the one about the UFO in Antarctica."  
  
"It was a UFO."  
  
"That was never proven."  
  
"You saw it!"  
  
"How could I have seen it? I was unconscious! We can argue this over lunch, but we should go."  
  
"Alright. I'm starving."  
  
David started laughing behind them. Scully turned and smiled at him.  
  
"It was really nice to meet you, David."  
  
"It was a pleasure meeting you too, Dr. Scully!"  
  
"Here, this is my card. Email me once in a while!"  
  
"Thanks! Special Agent? Cool!"  
  
Scully laughed.  
  
"Less special now that I'm not having to cover for Mulder all the time!"  
  
"Hey!" Mulder exclaimed. Scully smiled up at him innocently and he couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, I guess you did spend a lot of time covering for me."  
  
"And making excuses. Don't forget that. Skinner once told me that when he needed cheering up he would replay in his mind some of those excuses."  
  
"Really? What did you say?"  
  
"I told the truth."  
  
Mulder laughed.  
  
"Goodbye, Janet," Scully said, holding out her hand.  
  
"Goodbye, Scully," Janet replied coolly.  
  
Mulder said goodbye quickly and assured her that he would be back within the next day or so because he still had to convince Scully about the importance of that sword. Janet gritted her teeth at that and smiled.  
As they left, Mulder returned his hand to Scully's lower back and she couldn't help but smile. She knew that she could beat Janet. She might even have fun doing it!  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Please please please review my story!!!!! 


	5. Meant For Each Other (5)

Scully almost laughed when Mulder led her through the door into his apartment. It was incredibly similar to his Washington apartment. His old leather couch was along the right wall in the living room, across from the television. It looked as well loved as ever. There was a little kitchen, which looked rather neglected, and a small bathroom. The bedroom door was shut. Scully looked at Mulder mischievously.  
  
"If I open that door," she asked, "will I find a bunch of boxes full of files and magazines?"  
  
"No," he replied with a hurt tone of voice. "I haven't had the time to accumulate that much yet."  
  
Scully laughed. Mulder laughed too and pulled Scully close to him. He leaned down and he gave her a long kiss.  
  
"Hey," Mulder said, "I'm going to get a beer. Do you want anything?"  
  
"Sure, what are my choices?"  
  
"Beer and… water."  
  
"I see that your kitchen is as well stocked in San Francisco as it was in Washington, Mulder."  
  
"So I eat out a lot. Sue me."  
  
"It looks like you order in a lot too."  
  
All of a sudden the strange old man appeared in front of Scully. She jumped. Before saying anything, Scully pointed towards the kitchen.  
  
"He's frozen," the old man told her.  
  
"Good."  
  
"Well, Washington is safe for him again."  
  
"How did you manage that?"  
  
"I just changed a few people's memories. They now live in other cities and have never heard about Mulder or you, or the x-files department, for that matter. They are very happy actually. Each one is doing exactly what he or she has always wanted to do. One is even back to following the destiny that he was originally supposed to follow."  
  
"Really? Now, out of curiosity, why couldn't you do that with Mulder?"  
  
"It never works. I mean, I can change his memory just fine, but he still always finds and falls for her again."  
  
"Alright, I have some questions about that. You said that we are meant to be together, but that the three of us keep living over and over and he always picks her. What if he really is meant to be with her?"  
  
"But he's not. He was supposed to pick you the first time, but he didn't. You all keep living and each time he chooses incorrectly."  
  
"The first time?"  
  
"Yes. This all started a long time ago. Oh, why don't I just show you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Here, I'll show you. Remember, your name is Leanna and you are a lady-in-waiting."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just watch." Suddenly the room became very blurry. When it came into focus again it wasn't a room at all. She was standing near the edge of a forest. There were several other people around. There was a man wondering a little way away and a young boy standing nearby looking bored. A brunette woman was sitting on the grass nearby eating something. A man with brown hair reclined near her and a blond woman was feeding berries to him one by one. The strangest thing about the whole scene was that everyone was wearing medieval clothing. Scully looked more closely at the blond woman and realized that she looked exactly like Janet. She was dressed in a very fine looking gown and wore her hair up in a fancy coronet-like headdress. Scully looked down at herself and found that she was dressed in a period gown as well. And she could tell from the weight of her hair that it was long like she had worn it in college and was bound up on her head. She reached up and found that she wore a fancy headdress too. It all felt so strange. Then the woman who looked like Janet got up and brushed her gown off.  
  
"Come along, Claudia," she said to the brunette woman. They walked away together and promptly began giggling.  
  
The man who had been reclining sat up a little and looked over at Scully. He smiled at her. He was Mulder! She couldn't believe her eyes. He looked exactly the same, but his hair was shoulder length.  
  
"You've barely eaten a thing, Leanna," he said teasingly.  
  
"I haven't much of an appetite," she replied curtly. Scully sat down next to him, but she didn't look at him. He had just been eating berries from another woman's hands and she was rather annoyed by it. The old man must have been mistaken because in this time and place Mulder (or whatever his name was) didn't seem interested in her at all. He laughed and reached for some berries. He sat up and held one out to her.  
  
"Here, try them," he urged. "They are quite excellent, and so juicy." She cautiously took the proffered berry and popped it into her mouth, sucking the juice from her fingers.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked when she had swallowed.  
  
"It's very good." He leaned towards her with another one, holding it before her mouth. She looked at him for a moment, but his eyes urged her to eat the fruit. Hesitantly she opened her lips and took the fruit from his fingers, licking some of the juice away as well. A smile played about his lips. She smiled. Maybe he was a little interested…  
  
"You've been so quiet today, Leanna. What's on your mind?"  
  
"You're on my mind."  
  
"Me? Why?"  
  
"I think about you a lot."  
  
"Really? I knew that many of the other ladies thought about me, but you seemed so much more substantial than them. I trusted that you knew how silly they all are for admiring me."  
  
"I do. I just wonder what you see in her. You have so much more personality than she has, so what is it?"  
  
"You shouldn't speak against the queen. Especially not if Arthur is within earshot." The queen. Now that was interesting.  
  
"I wasn't. I love the queen very much, she just isn't that complicated."  
  
"No, she isn't at that. Something about her keeps me interested though. I know that I shouldn't be doing this. I mean, Arthur would kill me if he found out, but I can't help it somehow. Maybe we were meant to be together."  
  
"You weren't."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You weren't meant to be together."  
  
"How would you know?"  
  
"I just know. Someone told me."  
  
"Merlin, right? He's the only one who could even pretend to know."  
  
"Yes, it was Merlin."  
  
"Maybe he's right, but at this point, I don't know how to stop what I have with her."  
  
All of a sudden the world became blurry again. When it refocused itself she was standing in Mulder's apartment again. The strange old man stood before her smiling.  
  
"Well, what did you find out?"  
  
"I dreamt that, right? There's no possible way that I just visited Camelot."  
  
"Camelot?"  
  
"They talked about Merlin. He was the sorcerer that supposedly lived in King Arthur's court."  
  
"Oh, I know who Merlin is. What did you learn?"  
  
"He admitted that maybe he wasn't meant to be with her, but he said that he couldn't stop it."  
  
"Hm. I wonder…"  
  
"You wonder what?"  
  
"Nothing. I'll see you later."  
  
And with a popping sound he was gone.  
  
Mulder walked back into the room holding two beer bottles. He held one out to Scully.  
  
"Everything alright?" he asked. "You look like you've got something weighing on your mind."  
  
"I'm fine," she replied with a smile.  
  
Mulder obviously didn't believe her, but he didn't say anything.  
  
"Want to watch a movie Scully?"  
  
"A real movie, or one of those tapes that aren't yours?"  
  
Mulder laughed.  
  
"I've expanded my collection a bit. I have some 'real' movies now."  
  
"I see. And what do we have to choose from? "Big Blond Biker Babes from Mars?"  
  
"Scully, I'm hurt. I got rid of most of those videos before I moved out here!"  
  
"I believe you. What do you have that we can watch?"  
  
Mulder went to a bookshelf with stacks of tapes on it and started going through them.  
  
"I've got 'Caddyshack,' 'The Usual Suspects,' 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' 'Groundhog Day,' 'Young Frankenstein,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'Goldfinger,' 'The Godfather,' the 'Star Wars' movies (although I don't see 'The Empire Strikes Back, but I could find it if you want), 'Dirty Harry,' 'Aliens,' '2001: A Space Odyssey,' 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'Plan 9 from Outer Space,' 'The Day the Earth Stood Still,' 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' 'The Thing,' 'Star Trek,' 'Star Trek Generations,' 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,' 'Alien Resurrection,' 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,' 'Casablanca,' 'Some Like it Hot,' and 'The Wizard of Oz.' Anything sound good?"  
  
"Mulder, you have one of the strangest collection of movies I've ever seen."  
  
"I have good movies!"  
  
"Mulder! You have arguably the worst movie ever made in your collection!"  
  
"I like it!"  
  
"You would. Why don't we watch 'Casablanca?'"  
  
"Good choice."  
  
Mulder pulled the tape out of the stack and popped it into the VCR. They sat back on his couch to watch the movie. Mulder put his arm around Scully and she rested her head on his chest. Near the end of the movie Scully dropped her empty beer bottle into Mulder's lap and he noticed that she had fallen asleep. He watched the rest of the movie cradling her in his arms.  
  
"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," said Bogart on the screen.  
  
Suddenly there was a popping noise in front of him and a strange old man appeared in front of the TV. He smiled at Mulder and Scully. Mulder had the strange feeling that he had met this man before, but he couldn't place him, which scared him since he had a photographic memory and he wasn't used to not being able to remember things. He especially wondered why he couldn't remember someone who could suddenly appear in a room.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Mulder," the man said courteously.  
  
"Hello," Mulder answered warily. "Who are you?"  
  
"I need you to do something for me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm going to give you a set of memories (not permanently), and I need you to tell me if there is anything in there that you recognize, even if you can't place it."  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"Mr. Mulder, I can't explain it right now. I need you to do this for me."  
  
"Not until you tell me who you are!"  
  
"I have a thousand names in as many places. I am something that you can't understand. It doesn't matter right now. I need you to do this for me."  
  
"Will you explain it to me afterwards?"  
  
"Of course. Now just tell me if you see anything familiar."  
  
Suddenly a wave of memories washed over Mulder. They weren't his memories though, that he knew for sure. He saw a crystal blue lake. Then he was on a ship on the sea. A sword in his hand flashed in the sun as he swung it. He was kneeling before a throne. He saw a beautiful woman (although he couldn't quite make out her face). He was kissing the woman. He was handing her a ring. The woman was laughing. Then he started as another woman's face came to his mind. It was Scully, but she had long hair and it was intricately wound up on her head. She looked stunning. Then the picture shifted again. He was swinging his sword again, warding off attacks by several men. Then the woman was tied to a post to be burned and he was pulling her out. Then a sword swinging at his neck and everything went black. Suddenly he was back in his own apartment and that old man was looking at him curiously. Scully was still asleep in his arms.  
  
"Did you see anything useful?" the strange man asked.  
  
"Where did those images come from?"  
  
"From the past."  
  
"Whose past?"  
  
The man looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment.  
  
"Yours."  
  
"A past life?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We worked on a case several years ago where we found out that I had always been with another woman (although sometimes I was the woman and she was the man) in my past lives. We never looked the same though."  
  
"I know. Those memories weren't real. You've always looked very similar to the way you do now, and so has Scully."  
  
"Did I know her in every life?"  
  
"Yes. You fell in love with her in every life."  
  
"Did we ever get married?"  
  
"No. You should though."  
  
"We should?"  
  
"Yes. Ask her to marry you. It would mean that you'd get to spend time with your son too, instead of living 3000 miles away from him."  
  
"My son?"  
  
"Yes, Fox, William is your son."  
  
"How is that possible?"  
  
"Her in vitro worked after the test."  
  
"That doesn't happen."  
  
"It does when Charles Spender wants it to."  
  
"Charles Spender? The Cancer Man?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm not surprised. It may be the only gift he ever gave me."  
  
"So, what did you see in the memories?"  
  
"The only thing besides Scully that I recognized was a ring. It's one that we found in Wales and is in the lab at Stanford with the other finds. I thought it was familiar when I first saw it, and now I know why. Janet was trying to find one like it in the archive the other day because it looked familiar to her too. Did I know her then?"  
  
"Yes, you did."  
  
"What was our relationship?"  
  
"She was in love with you."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Forgive me, but I have to go."  
  
"Will I see you again?"  
  
"If you play your cards right."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Just decide who you really love. Give it a lot of thought and make a decision."  
  
"One last question."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Why could I never see that other woman's face?"  
  
"Because I didn't want you to. Goodbye Mr. Mulder."  
  
With a pop the man disappeared again. Scully startled awake.  
  
"Is the movie over?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
Mulder looked down at her and a smile spread across his face. He lifted her chin up and kissed her lips. When their lips broke apart, a smile spread across Scully's face. 


End file.
